25th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) in Bern

The European Association of Archaeologists was founded 25 years ago and is one of the, if not the, most important archaeological associations in Europe. It is also one of the largest archaeological associations in the world. For many years, German experts from all archaeological disciplines and the cultural and heritage management sectors have taken part in the annual meetings that form a central forum of communication and exchange for the EAA.

The Romano-Germanic
Commission (RGK) takes a very active role in the EAA: as of 2014, it is a
corporate member with 10 fixed members. The current first director, Eszter
Bánffy, has held several key positions within the EAA structure since 2005 and
was general secretary of the association from 2008-2011. The second director,
Kerstin P. Hofmann and all research staff of the institute regularly organise
sessions and contribute papers.

This
year’s annual meeting will be held in Bern, Switzerland, from the 4th to the 7th
of September. It is held under the motto Beyond
paradigms, a nod to the ground-breaking achievements of Albert Einstein
during his time at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern. This includes, of course,
the so-called “Wunderjahr” of 1905, in which Einstein published 5 major works,
including his dissertation, that would revolutionise not only Physics but the
general understanding of our world. In its 25th year, the EAA seeks to
provide not only a platform for exchange and presentation of newest research
approaches and results, but also for discussion of the wider societal and
socio-political relevance and role of archaeology.

The bags are packed, we’re (very nearly) ready to go, the Taxi’s waiting down below…

In Bern,
the RGK will be not only present its current research in the form of sessions
and papers, but also at a stand at the European
Archaeology Fair. This stand will offer a chance to meet us, talk to us
about our current research and to browse our current publications. The short
version of our new bilingual brochure “Die RGK stellt sich vor. Introducing the
RGK“ was finished just in time and will be available at the stand. It provides
more information about the RGK and its projects.

Just in time delivery – the short version of our new brochure arrived…yesterday!

Throughout
next week, the RGK will be involved in the following several papers and
sessions, as well as Saturday’s keynote held by the second director, Kerstin P.
Hofmann. The full programme of the meeting and further information on all
aspects of the 2019 EAA can be found at https://www.e-a-a.org/eaa2019